GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	1 

SENATE BILL 1215

Short Title:  Funds for Cancer Testing.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Senators Odom; Dannelly, Warren, Weinstein, and Winner.

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Referred to:  Appropriations.

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May 21, 1998

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO ACQUIRE IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY FOR THE EARLY DETECTION OF CERVICAL CANCER.
Whereas, about one-third of women diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer will die each year because the cancer was detected too late; and
Whereas, North Carolina ranks twelfth in the nation for cervical cancer deaths, and the rate for related deaths among African-American women is almost three times higher than that of white women; and
Whereas, with regular screening, cervical cancer is a preventable and curable disease; and
Whereas, 152,000 Pap smears were processed in the State laboratory in 1997; and
Whereas, each rescreening costs between $90.00-$131.00; and
Whereas, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the ThinPrep system as a replacement for the conventional Pap smear method in May 1996; and
Whereas, the ThinPrep cervical cancer screening technique has been shown in clinical trials to significantly improve the specimen quality and reduce the need for rescreenings, and reduce examination time by one-third to one-half compared to conventional smears; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services the sum of one million nine hundred thousand dollars ($1,900,000) for the 1998-99 fiscal year.  These funds shall be used to enable the State Laboratory of Public Health to acquire improved technology for processing Pap smears to promote earlier detection of cervical cancer.  Funds shall be used for the one-time purchase of equipment and for the purchase of supplies, including three ThinPrep processing systems and disposable collection kits.
Section 2. This act becomes effective July 1, 1998.